Friday, October 26, 2018

Some Vintage Dodgers Memorabilia at REA

We are hours away from the start of Game 3 of the World Series, so why not begin the afternoon with some vintage Dodgers memorabilia. Featured here are some Dodger goodies found at REA's current Fall auction.

Directly above is a rarity. It is a 1940's era Ebbets Field employee badge. (Auction Link) To the right is a vintage ticket from the very last ballgame played at Ebbets Field, dated September 24, 1957. (Auction Link) Per the auction description:

While Brooklyn Dodgers fans were always a resilient group, forever buoyed by the familiar refrain of "wait 'til next year," nothing could have prepared them at the start of the 1957 season for what just a few short years earlier would have been the unthinkable: the Dodgers leaving Brooklyn. Yet that is just what happened when, on October 8, 1957, team owner Walter O'Malley announced he was moving the Dodgers to Los Angeles. Rumors had been swirling the entire summer about such a possibility, but most fans chose to bury their heads in the sand and ignore such blasphemous talk. Perhaps that's the only way to explain why, on September 24, 1957, only 6,702 fans attended Brooklyn's final home game of the season at Ebbets Field. It is also possible that some fans just could not bear to say goodbye to their beloved "bums" and the venerable old stadium they called home. The significance of the final out was obviously not lost on longtime organist Gladys Gooding, who serenaded the fans with the tune Auld Lang Syne as they exited the ballpark for the very last time.

Lastly, here is an item that isn't so Dodger friendly. In fact, it represents a loss for the Dodgers franchise. Featured is a "Key to the City" of Glendale, California that was given to then Yankees manager and former Dodger outfielder Casey Stengel. He was awarded the key in honor and in celebration of the Yankees defeat of the Dodgers in the 1949 World Series. (Auction Link)

As you may know, Stengel lived in Glendale, so he was a bit of a local hero. Included is a press photo showing him, alongside his wife Edna, parading down a busy Glendale street.

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“There’s nothing like wearing a Dodger jersey. There’s nothing like it in sports. I don’t care that I’ve never been anywhere else. I don’t care. There’s nothing like wearing a Dodger jersey.” -- A.J. Ellis